Wheelchair Theology
Brad’s physical disability had typically kept him from attending church. Born with Spina Bifida, his paralyzed legs had kept him wheelchair bound and made him a routinely solitary individual. Until one day he noticed a church which was quite different; its beautiful entrance had no stairs; just one big, beautiful, non skid, granite ramp. He was further intrigued when he noticed that every parking space had a handicapped sign. After weeks of internal debate he decided to attend one Sunday.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he experienced…when he arrived he found that everyone there was in a wheelchair. He fit right in! The pastor, the choir, everyone was disabled! After attending for a few months he felt he was ready to commit to this; so he wheeled down the aisle, made a profession of faith, and was welcomed as a convert. For years he attended and enjoyed himself, and became very involved with the meals on wheels ministry. But reading his bible one day, he began noticing verses that troubled him. He scheduled an appointment with the pastor right away. Four o’clock Friday afternoon. He was there at three-forty-five.
Entering Pastor Steve’s office he was reassured, spiritual sounding books lined the mahogany shelves, spiritual artwork graced the walls, the decorum somehow even made the houseplants look spiritual. Steve would have the answers that would be able to set him strait.
“Pastor Steve,” Brad began, “I’ve been reading in my bible and found some things that are troubling me deeply.”
After a long pause, “Go on.” He replied.
“Well the bible talks about Jesus healing people, crippled people, so that they could walk . . . but none of us are walking…is there something wrong with that? Steve smiled, a reassuringly father-like smile, then softly chuckled, “I remember when I was your age, asking my pastor this same question. But you need to understand we are healed, we are walking.”
“What do you mean?” Brad wondered.
The Pastor continued, “We are healed positionally, we are walking positionally.”
“Positionally?”
“Yes positionally son. Take a look at this cookie.” Steve pulled an Oreo out of a bag in the drawer, “What do you see?” Steve asked with a sympathetic glimmer in his eyes.
“An Oreo cookie!” Brad stated the obvious.
Steve shoved the cookie in his mouth and made short work of it. “Now son, where is that cookie? Do you see it?” Steve questioned.
“No it’s in you.”
“Exactly” Steve said with a big grin, “The bible says that if any man be IN Christ he is a new creation, isn’t that right? Well…just like that cookie is in me, we are positioned in Christ, so when he walks, we walk. His health is our health. So don’t worry about trying to walk physically, because you already are walking in Christ.” Steve trailed off.
Rather confused, Brad looked down at his lap and nervously toggled the break on his chair repeatedly. Suddenly Pastor Steve’s iPhone rang, blaring out I can only imagine, “Hang on son, hello…oops I forgot, I’ll be right there!” I gotta run, I was supposed to meet someone at Starbucks half an hour ago.” Pastor Steve accompanied Brad to the door, sped through the sanctuary and left Brad brooding in a thick fog.
Positionally healthy? Positionally walking? He was more confused than before, the scriptures ware calling him to walk, while his pastor assured him it was unnecessary. Late that night, sitting in his wheelchair, reading the Bible he read where Peter told the beggar, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” He could not shake the feeling the words were speaking to him; he set the brakes, grabbed the arm rests and began to push himself up, he instantly felt dormant vitality flowing into his legs, and suddenly he was on his feet, his spine had even straitened. Standing for the first time in his life! Hot tears streamed down his face, he stood triumphantly erect! Never would he forget this night! He gingerly took his first steps, walking around the room, then jumping, all this for the first time in his life. Falling to his knees in prayer, he profusely praised God for His mighty grace. He couldn’t wait for Sunday; he would tell everyone it was true, you can walk, not just positionally, not just metaphorically, but really.
Instead of driving his lift van he decided to walk to church. He excitedly pushed his wheelchair to with him (without non-handicapped seating, he had to sit somewhere.) He was completely unprepared for his reception. As he approached the parking lot he noticed no expressions of joy those who saw him walking; some looked confused, others gaped at him with a smoldering anger. Eugene, the head Deacon, hesitantly wheeled up to him…”Hey what’s going on with you?” Eugene asked with an untrusting tone in his voice.
“Jesus healed me last night, I can walk now.” Brad jubilantly exclaimed.
“We’re all positionally healed. Either that or you have been a fraud all along!” Eugene snarled, with a noticeable change in his tone.
“But I really was healed; Jesus is still at work today and…” The old deacon didn’t wait for Brad to finish; he was wheeling toward Pastor Steve’s office as fast as he could, shaking his head and grumbling. Brad was completely blindsided, he had come to share great news but no one wanted to hear it, with butterflies in his stomach and a knot in his throat he had no idea what to do.
He began to feel out of place standing, as hostile eyes watched his every move, he decided not to stumble a weaker brother, and so he slowly, and with great hesitancy, walked in front of his wheelchair and sat down. Then he wheeled himself to his normal spot in the sanctuary. When the time came for Pastor Steve to speak, he seemed stressed, and unusually disorganized; almost as if he had discarded his original sermon, and hastily thrown together a new one. The first words he said were “we believe in grace,” and it went downhill from there. As he spoke he kept talking about walkalism, and divisive people being walkalists. He attempted to build a case that those who try to walk on their own are insulting Christ. After all, “Didn’t He walk well enough?” Pastor Steve kept asking questions like. . . “Do you think you can walk better than Jesus walked? Why would you even want to walk? Most Believers don’t even try to walk and those who do walk only end up falling eventually.”
After the service Brad was too emotional to talk to anyone. As he slowly wheeled out, he noticed his friends and acquaintances muttering “walkalist,” and “once walking always walking” under their breath. After putting a few blocks between him and the church he stopped and began to think. . . “I have two choices, I can walk and be misunderstood, or I can live like a cripple. He sat there for a long time, if he chose to walk there would be no going back. The midday sun was beginning to cross set, and still he had not moved. Then slowly and deliberately, he set the brakes, leaned forward and stood. As it happened he had stopped half a block from a large dumpster. He pushed the chair to the dumpster, carefully folded the chair, opened the dumpster’s lid, threw it in and walked away, never to look back. All the while a verse was echoing in his head, “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
